Decades have passed since the beginning of his career. And while Ozzy is certainly not in his prime, there’s no stopping for The Prince of Darkness. With the new album “Patient Number 9,” he pushed the boundaries further than he did in the past two or three decades. The record also features a mind-blowing lineup of musicians including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Zakk Wylde, and more.
But, of course, it all comes back to the old days. Without Black Sabbath, there would be no Ozzy Osbourne. At least not the one that we know of today. And speaking of old times, Black Sabbath’s tour with Van Halen was one of the pivotal moments in heavy metal. Such a combo went down in history, changing modern music forever.
Discussing the old days in a recent interview with Revolver, Ozzy Osbourne looked back on this particular tour and what the guys from Van Halen were like. He said:
“[Eddie] was such a great guy. They came to our local pub and it was good fun. But David Lee Roth, he’s lost a couple of nuts and bolts. When you meet him, it’s like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ He’s like somewhere else, you know?”
Of course, in Ozzy’s solo band, there was the almighty Randy Rhoads. And at that time, the way that Eddie Van Halen and Randy played was extremely innovative. In fact, it keeps inspiring new generations of musicians.
But that also came with its price. Both were pretty young, talented, and extremely ambitious. Playing guitar in metal bands only led to one obvious thing — rivalry. This was also discussed in a recent documentary, featuring some of the old interviews. Asked about the competitiveness between the two, Ozzy said:
“They were arch-enemies. Randy didn’t have a lot to say about Eddie. They were very, very similar guitar players. Eddie took that tapping thing to another level. Randy could do that, but he liked people like Leslie West.”
“It amazes me that you get Eddie, you get Randy, and you go, ‘No one’s ever gonna top that.’ But there’s a new thing round every corner.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ozzy looked back on his work with Tony Iommi who contributed his guitar works on two of the songs on the new album. The singer comments:
“If it wasn’t for Tony Iommi, there never would have been a Black Sabbath. We’ve had arguments, we’ve fallen out, we’ve made up. It’s just like a marriage. You get divorced, you get back together. But Tony Iommi — and I can never deny this — there’s not a man on the face of the earth who comes up with these gutty, dark, heavy riffs. He’s the king of riffs.“
Photo: Egghead06 (Ozzy Farewell 2017), Toglenn (David Lee Roth Smashbox 2008)
